Hellenistic bronze sculpture 'found in London home' could bring $125,520

Hellenistic bronze sculpture 'found in London home' could bring $125,520

Depicting a 1st century BC Hellenistic warrior, this piece of Classical bronze sculpture is for sale

It's amazing what you can find if you have a dig around... Like this important piece of Classical bronze sculpture, which is believed to depict a Hellenistic warrior of the 1st Century BC.

The historic bronze antique could now bring 50,000-80,000 ($125,520) at an auction of antiquities in London on April 25.

The 23 inch (58.4 cm) tall figure was uncovered in a London home, having been gifted to its present owner, an English private collector, in the 1960s.

It's rare for a bronze cuirassed bust of this calibre and era to appear on the markets. Very few have survived, even in fragmentary condition. Most that have are sculpted in marble, while bronze examples are almost exclusively held in museum collections.

The Classical bronze sculpture of a 1st Century BC Hellenistic warrior

According to experts, this military-dressed torso's posture suggests it was once mounted on horseback. Equestrian statues were popular in the Classical period, usually depicting kings like Alexander or generals of the Roman Republic.

The bronze sculpture's raised right arm may have once brandished a weapon as a symbol of vitality, very much in-keeping with Hellenistic art.

According to auction house experts, it's rare to find a statue of this kind with such a dynamic look.

"When we stumbled across this bronze torso it was in a very fragile and fragmentary state in a London home," said Madeleine Perridge, head of antiquities at Bonhams.

"But there was no mistaking its importance as one of a relatively small group of surviving life-size Classical bronzes ... its power and significance was unmistakable."